


Life's Greatest Treasure

by BecksLovesBlue



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dancing Cupcakes, Discord: Dumbledore's Armada, First Year Luna Lovegood, Gen, Growth, Hogwarts Professors, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw Tower, Self-Esteem Issues, The Sorting Hat, professor Flitwick - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28924458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecksLovesBlue/pseuds/BecksLovesBlue
Summary: Books. Intelligence. Wit.Filius Flitwick was sure he had exactly what it took to be a Ravenclaw. He just didn't know that he had to learn something along the way.
Relationships: Filius Flitwick & Luna Lovegood
Comments: 15
Kudos: 11
Collections: Bronze & Gold





	Life's Greatest Treasure

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [pandora_rose_xo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandora_rose_xo/pseuds/pandora_rose_xo) in the [BronzeGold](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/BronzeGold) collection. 



> A response to Dumbledore's Armada Flash Fic Challenge: Bronze & Gold. 
> 
> My character was: Filius Flitwick.
> 
> Special thanks to my amazing unnamed beta!

“Flitwick, Filius!”

The transfiguration professor stood at the front of the Great Hall, a patched and frayed Wizard’s held firmly in hand.

Filius took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. He’d known about the hat, of course, read about it in  _ Hogwarts: A History. _ He knew all about the different traits that set apart each of the houses. He’d already made his decision; he knew where he wanted to go.

But what if the hat thought differently? What if he wasn’t enough?

Filius shook his head. He would not allow those intrusive thoughts into his mind. His mother had always taught him, it is not the stature of a man that defines him, but what he holds most dear to his heart.

Stepping carefully up the small steps to the stool, he noticed that he did not even reach the old professor’s knees with the top of his head. Filius struggled to climb onto the stool and when he finally managed to sit atop it, he could see a few of the students had been hiding quiet snickers and giggles behind their hands. 

The sight was cut off when the old hat dropped down over his head, reaching down past his shoulders.

He waited eagerly for the hat to make its decision. He sat very still, making sure to not fidget with his hands when at last a small, but deep voice close to his ear startled him.

“Ah, yes, brave, very brave you are, Filius Flitwick,” the hat began. “And a desire to prove your worth,I see. You’d make a fine Gryffindor.”

Filius felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“No.” He had to stop himself from saying it aloud, anxiousness filling his body.

“No? And why is that?” The hat’s low voice asked him.

“I’m smart. I’m very smart.”

“Smart, you say? So, you expect to be placed in Ravenclaw, then?”

Filius didn’t answer, he tried very hard not to think. He knew the hat could hear his thoughts.

But he  _ had _ expected Ravenclaw. Ever since he’d read about each of the founders. A thirst for knowledge— amongst other things— had always set him apart from other children. It was his chance to prove himself, to show he was more than his height metric.

He yearned to be a Ravenclaw with all of the fiery passion that burned in his young, little heart.

“Being a Ravenclaw is not just about being smart, Filius,” the hat chuckled in his ears, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Wisdom is a treasure, yes, but other traits signal out Ravenclaws.”

The hat was quiet for a moment, and Filius couldn’t help but rack his brain for what more there was to be a Ravenclaw.

“A sharp mind, wit, creativity, logic… all important. Do you possess each of these qualities, Filius?”

“Yes!” He thought eagerly! “I do!”

Desperate for the hat to finally make its decision and realize his potential in Ravenclaw, he gripped the edge of the stool tightly, his fingernails etching themselves into the wood. Filius felt like years had gone by as the hat quietly pondered the options.

Then it chuckled.

“Very well, then. Better be RAVENCLAW!”

* * *

When Professor Flitwick heard the cries down the corridor, he sprinted towards the sound. His short legs left heavy footsteps on the cold stone floor of the fifth-floor corridor that led to the staircase of Ravenclaw Tower.

He hoped against all reason that it wasn’t another attack. That it wasn’t another one of his students who would end up in the infirmary petrified. In his tenure as a teacher, Filius had never felt as helpless as he had when he’d gazed upon the marble-like expression of Miss Clearwater.

The thought made him bolt up the stairs as quickly as his small body let him.

He wouldn’t let another one of his students down. Master duelist as he was, he would face any adversary, any monster that Salazar Slytherin had placed in the castle.

But in all his years of practice, Filius hadn’t faced an opponent that had prepared him for what he found when he reached the door to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

A body sat on the floor against the stonewall, hands hugging knees to a chest that Filius knew was trembling from heavy gasps. The sniffles coming from the girl sent painful stabs to his heart.

He recognized the dirty blond waist-length hair even in the dark.

He stepped forward carefully, reaching his wand out to cast a  _ Lumos _ charm.

“Miss Lovegood?”

Her head snapped up to meet his gaze and the sight of her bloodshot eyes level with his sent his stomach in a plunge towards the floor.

Quickly, Luna’s hand came up to wipe tears from her eyes.

“Professor Flitwick.” His name came out in a strangled sob. “I can’t get into the Common Room and I’m scared.”

His heart warmed. He was scared too, with the threat of the Chamber of Secrets, it was difficult to find a soul in the school that wasn’t terrified to walk the halls. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to Circe and Morgana, that he’d found Miss Lovegood on this night.

“Haven’t any of the older students been to help you?”

Luna’s wide eyes flickered to the floor as tears began welling in the corners.

“No, they said that a true Ravenclaw would understand the riddles and be able to enter by their own merit.”

Even in her distraught state, her voice was soft and airy. It reminded Filius of what he believed fairies would sound like.

However, the overprotective instinct he usually felt over the first years evaporated quickly at the mention of the older students’ attitude. He frowned deeply.

“We can’t have that, now can we?” He said, offering the girl his hand.

Luna stared at it. She had to look down to see it, but she didn’t hesitate to take the professor’s hand and rise to her feet.

He smiled at her, even though her gaze was stuck to the floor as Professor Flitwick turned to face the bronze knocker on the door. He reached his hand and knocked once. The beak of the bronze eagle opened, and the soft musical voice delivered the riddle that had to be solved in order to gain entrance to Ravenclaw Tower.

“What does man love more than life, hate more than death or mortal strife; that which contented men desire; the poor have, the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves? ”

Filius smiled, understanding dawning over him as to why Miss Lovegood had not yet understood the riddle. He chuckled to himself and looked up at his student, who was trying very hard to let her gaze fall anywhere but at the door.

“Miss Lovegood?” He waited for an answer that didn’t come. “Is there anything you hate more than death or the strife of mortal life?”

She was silent, her sniffles the only sound in the hall. He waited, patiently for Luna to understand the message, so fitting in the situation she currently sat in.

Finally, her sing-song voice replied, “No, sir.”

“Well, I think we’ve found the answer to our riddle, now haven’t we?”

She shook her head, fresh tears pouring from her eyes.

“I shouldn’t be in Ravenclaw,” she sobbed. “I’m not smart enough and all the other children know it. I never understand these stupid riddles, and nobody ever understands anything I talk about.” She paused, heaving a deep sight. “I don’t even have any friends. They all call me Loony Lovegood, sir.”

She swiped furiously at her face, attempting to banish the tears that stained her rosy cheeks.

It pained Filius to see her struggle against herself. A struggle so similar to one he’d faced once he was a young student himself. The words of a ratty old hat had been the only comfort he felt as he lay in his four-poster bed, doubting if he really had what it took to bring pride to the House of Ravenclaw.

He reached into the pocket of his robes, extracting his shrunken tin. He swiftly enlarged it with a flick of his wand and opened it to reveal a half dozen dancing cupcakes.

“Look here Miss Lovegood,” he exclaimed, calling the attention of his student.

When Luna turned her gaze towards the tin, she found the sight of the pastries bouncing around the tin to non-existent music. Her face broke out in a wide grin. A grin that proved to Filius that helping shape the sharp minds of the future was his true calling.

“Take one, Miss Lovegood and remember,” he smiled brightly at her.  “It’s not just about being smart, it’s about breaking the boundaries of existing knowledge to seek understanding of the world at large. I think you’re much better at that than many of the older students.”

Luna looked down at her professor, but unlike before, she wasn’t shying away from him. She met his gaze with a bright smile and a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

“Now, head inside and stay safe.”

She nodded, turning to the brass doorknob. Shoulders straight and head held high, she quickly stated, “Nothing.”

“Too right you are,” the door replied, swinging open.

Filius watched Luna disappear into the Common Room and once again felt sure that long before the hat’s decision, he’d already been a true Ravenclaw.

Not because he was smart, no. But because he understood. 


End file.
